Research Help

[rbrt stllmn]

Hi,
After losing my job due to the pandemic I wanted to look at the possibilities of setting up a remote business service. With so many areas to delve into, I thought this group would be a good place to start some research.

What are the most popular remote services business owners outsource?


Any replies would be great and very much appreciated.
Many Thanks

 

[Socio South West]

I did likewise after I sold my company 6 years ago at the age of 55.

My initial vision of offering my collection of skills in an advisory capacity to a portfolio of small businesses did not turn out how I planned, and I have ended up with a comfortable portfolio of part time and ad hoc roles with four small companies , all done in my own time and from home.

Obviously there are many in the same position as you at the moment: My suggestion is that you turn the question round and seek opportunities for your skill set in work that can be done remotely. Almost anything can be outsourced if a business owner puts their minds to it.

 

[Mr D]

Fulfilment - sending a bunch of stock for someone else to store and send out when an order comes in. Perhaps not ideal to start with.

Accountancy - we don't use an in house accountant
Insurance - we use external insurers
Storage - most stock is stored in containers.

 

[The Byre]

What are the most popular remote services business owners outsource?

There are massive companies with turnover in the hundreds of millions that consist of just a handful of staff - everything else being contracted out. Your problem is that none of these external services are general. They tend to be highly specialised and hard to do and hard to learn.

A typical example is the film industry. Highly specialised skills are hired in, ranging from focus-puller to computer graphics - and of course all the actors and extras and scene builders and lighting techs. I can think of one independent production company that is just three people but has an annual spend of about $30m. Another is five people and the turnover is in the hundreds of millions.

The building trade. Surveyors, architects, structural engineers, brickies and chippies. A friend of ours has such a company and he is building an entire housing estate. That's just him, with his wife doing the books and five PAYE staff to oversee and supervise the trades hired in.

Yet another is the media - trade mags, newspapers, radio and TV use a vast army of freelance talent and specialised outside facilities. Most of what you see on television was done by freelance staff in outside facilities. Even play-out, transfer and transmission is today done by outsiders. The BBC still has the remnants of a once vast news department but most news footage comes from agencies such as Reuters.

If you can programme in C++, or trouble-shoot a network, the world is your oyster.

That's your problem - we are now in the gig economy. And all the good gigs are highly specialised and usually very technical. The rest is stuff like office cleaners and nightwatchmen.

 

[computerbeing]

Probably start with listing what you would be good at. An example is content generation for specific industries. You could get a lot of work if you are a quality writer.